MONTRÉAL, December 16, 2014 – Dr. Maja Krajinovic, researcher in the Viral and Immune Disorders and Cancers Axis at Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center (CHU Sainte-Justine), was awarded an operating grant from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada, whose mission is to cure permanently leukemia and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

The grant will support the analysis of whole-exome sequencing data in pharmacogenomics of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). ALL is the most frequent pediatric malignancy still associated with resistance to treatment and drug side effects. In spite of a survival rate of more than 85% achieved thanks to novel treatments, the related medical and psychosocial impacts of the disease and treatments remain a major issue. This study will allow the development of individualized treatments with increased efficacy for resistant patients and reduced drug side effects in patients who respond well.

In addition to being a researcher at CHU Sainte-Justine, Dr. Maja Krajinovic is Full Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and the Department of Pharmacology at Université de Montréal. Her pharmacogenetics laboratory focuses on genetic variations in relation to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic drug variability, explaining response variation in patients treated with the standard dose of a medication. Such variability can explain sub-optimal responses to drugs such as adverse reactions or resistance to treatment, indicating a need to identify factors associated with variable drug effects. One of the pharmacogenetic projects addresses several antitumor drugs used in the treatment of ALL.